Learn from Amazon: Why you should focus on your customers first

There’s no dispute – Amazon is a giant among retailers. Founded in 1994, Amazon boasted $386 billion in annual revenue in 2020. The founder, Jeff Bezos, is not only one of the richest people in the world but he is revered worldwide as a genius and a business titan.  

Like auto dealers, Amazon has plenty of competitors. Their secret sauce can be found in their mission statement and is built from a simple ideology that auto dealers can easily replicate: “Amazon strives to be Earth’s most customer-centric company”. 

Amazon’s strategy works because they focus on what they are able to provide to their consumers. Amazon never brands itself for the sake of branding, they instead narrow in on the benefits they provide to customers like having the exact products they’re looking for, same-day shipping and great customer service. 

There are two key steps that auto dealers can follow to learn from this customer-centric retail giant: 

1. Show your customers what they're actually looking for
2. Listen to the market

Show your customers what they're looking for

Amazon knows it’s important to give their customers what they want which is why they build digital ads from products a specific shopper might be interested in. A dealership can replicate this by delivering custom creative to its potential customers.  

Static marketing strategies and techniques are a thing of the past – or at least they should be. With the nature of the automotive industry, inventory is constantly changing, shoppers are always cycling out of the buying cycle and the market is fluctuating. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy that can adequately perform in each of these unique environments. 

Every day, it’s important to go-to-market with dynamic, inventory-based campaigns that run off of the live inventory that’s available. This allows dealers to show customers exactly what they’re looking for rather than vehicles they’re not interested in or units that already sold. 

When a dealership is working with an active shopper, they need to make the buying process simple and efficient. This includes making it easy for customers to view a VDP, value a trade-in or schedule a test drive by showing them the exact vehicle they want across all channels. 

Listen to the market

Another tenant of Amazon’s success comes from their decision to rely on technology and data to make smart choices. Similarly, with the right setup, dealers can use data-driven customizations on their different ad campaigns that ensure that no spend is wasted on vehicles that are out of stock or that will essentially sell themselves. 

But for the best store performance real-time data should be used for all strategic choices. Giants like Amazon make decisions off hard numbers like sales, revenue and profit. With no guess work, Amazon better understands the market and they’re able to better strategize their next steps including the products they offer.  

Similarly, dealers should use real-time data to make smart decisions about their store. From inventory to lead providers to pricing, data is a dealership’s best option to anticipate their market’s and their customers’ needs.   

Growing sales and increasing revenue doesn’t have to involve reinventing the wheel. With small adjustments, any auto dealership can follow in Amazon’s footsteps to become a giant among men – or their market.